Almost every day we open letters and emails from former patients, their friends and their families thanking us for the care they received here at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. We are grateful to them for taking the time to let us know about their experience, updating us on their recovery, and telling the stories that can only come from real people. To share your story, drop us an email. Your name will not be used, unless you give your consent.

Below, we share a selection of those stories with you.

Samantha Rohan

The Cooley Childbirth Staff Have 'Depth of Wisdom'

When Samantha Rohan learned she was pregnant and chose the Cooley Dickinson Center for Midwifery Care, this is what she was thinking: "I wasn't sick. I was just pregnant, so I didn't need to see a doctor."

Samantha and her husband, William "Bill" Rohan of Belchertown chose to see midwives during her pregnancy for support and "care of the whole person," as Bill describes it, and it was a choice they are very pleased to have made. This because the midwifery center and its medical director, Dr. Tucker Kueny, who they did eventually have cause to meet, exceeded the Rohans' expectations, as did Cooley Dickinson's Childbirth Center when August Adams Rohan was born Aug. 31, 2009.
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Nunia Mafi

As a patient at Cooley Dickinson's Center for Midwifery Care, all went according to plan for Nunia Mafi during her first pregnancy. That is, until June 1, three days after her due date, when she woke up in labor, and a routine internal exam didn't feel to Midwife Judie Brock the way it had just a week before..

"They were looking out for me"

Nunia and her husband, Josh Silver, of Florence were asked to have another ultrasound with Kristen Isler at Cooley Dickinson, and that procedure showed their baby was in a breech position. Back at the Midwifery Center, the couple met with Judie, Midwife Pamela Drexler-Lopez and Dr. Tucker Kueny, OB-GYN. They were concerned about the breech position and low amniotic fluid volume and recommended that Nunia have a Cesarean section that same day.
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Angelique Britt

"It's beautiful.
I was really pleased."

It's a short walk from the Cooley Dickinson Center for Midwifery Care to the main hospital and its Childbirth Center – unless, of course, you're a woman in labor and ready to give birth.

This is why on Sept. 24, 2009, at 6 centimeters dilated, the young and healthy Angelique Britt agreed to take the briefest of car rides with partner, Michael Thomasson and their two-year-old son Andrew, or "Drew." Angelique had just visited Midwife Judie Brock at the center, and there was no question that Angelique needed to get up the hill to the Childbirth Center – quickly.
Michael dropped Angelique off at the Main Entrance, and by the time Angelique and Michael had been admitted to the Childbirth Center, staff had drawn Angelique a Jacuzzi bath that she quickly settled in to.
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Becky Jacobsen

Becky Jacobsen of West Springfield became the first expectant mother to deliver her infant in Cooley Dickinson Hospital's Childbirth Center's new birthing tub on Feb 7, 2010.

First Infant Born in Cooley Dickinson Hospital Birthing Tub

Jacobsen, attended by her husband, Jonathan, gave birth to their son Gage Jacobsen. The Jacobsens said they chose to have their baby at Cooley Dickinson because they had heard good feedback from other parents at the hospital's Center for Midwifery Care and because they were also excited about the hospital's new birthing tub.
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Theresa Greco

When Theresa and Jeff found out Theresa was pregnant in July 2008, they decided they wanted to take a less medical approach to pregnancy and opted for what they hoped would be a more personal, supportive experience. They sought out midwives and chose to have Theresa's prenatal care provided by Cooley Dickinson's Center for Midwifery Care.

Relocated from Colorado, the Grecos hadn't been in the area long and say they found the midwifery center online while "shopping" for midwifery practices.  When they called the center, they said they immediately got a "good vibe" from receptionist Holly Levlyn, who, the Grecos say, was "friendly and professional."

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